My Vigilante Valentine

Chapter 9

9

more than a distraction

The warehouse door creaked open, a shadow slipping out.

Marco .

He was moving fast, head down, shoulders hunched like he was trying to outrun something he couldn’t see or name that lurked in the night.

I straightened in my seat, eyes narrowing on Marco as I reached out and pointed one finger in Luna’s direction. “Stay in the truck. Lock the doors.”

“Wait, what—” Luna started, but I didn’t wait for the rest.

She had one job: stay put.

I just hoped she’d do it.

Lightning fast, I grabbed my jacket and blades from the backseat and got ready. And then—after waiting to make sure I heard the quiet click of the locks as she did what I asked—I slipped away from the truck.

Hood up, I kept to the shadows, footsteps silent as I trailed Marco down the dimly lit street. He veered into an alley.

Perfect .

Familiar territory.

I was just closing the distance when the unmistakable clatter of a trash can lid echoed through the alley like a gunshot.

I froze.

Marco froze.

The world froze.

I didn’t have to look to know who the culprit was.

Luna .

I whipped around just in time to see her drop the metal lid, her face a mix of horror and guilt. Because of course she didn’t stay in the truck. That would’ve been too easy.

Too safe.

Apparently, that just wasn’t her style.

Marco’s head snapped toward the noise, eyes narrowing.

Great .

I moved as fast as I ever had, crossing the distance in a few quick, blurring strides. I grabbed Luna by the wrist, pulling her into the shadows, pressing her back against the cold brick wall just as Marco turned the corner, squinting into the dark.

I could feel her breath, quick and warm, against my jaw.

My hand was still wrapped around her wrist, her pulse rapid beneath my fingers. Our faces were inches apart, close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes, even in the dark.

And our bodies?

Much too close for comfort.

“I thought I told you to stay in the truck,” I whispered, low and sharp.

“You did,” she whispered back. “But it was more of a suggestion than a rule, right?”

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to summon patience from the void. “It was a rule.”

“I thought there were no rules? Or was that just no code?”

I didn’t have time to argue.

Marco was still lingering, scanning the nooks and crannies of the cluttered alley.

I shifted, pressing in slightly to shield her from view, my body a barrier between her and the consequences of not listening to me.

Unfortunately, those consequences weren’t just about Marco.

Because now that I had her this close? Now that she was pressed against me like this?

My thoughts fully spiraled—each one worse, better, or more reckless than the last.

She wasn’t just in trouble for not staying put… I was in trouble for the want and need that now coursed through me.

Her breath hitched, and for a split second, I thought my heart was going to burn out from overexertion. It wasn’t supposed to pound like this. Not for this reason.

I focused on Marco, forcing myself to ignore her warmth and the way her eyes darted to my mouth and then quickly away.

She was a distraction neither one of us could afford right now.

But man , was she good at it.

Marco kept moving, his footsteps echoing down the expansive alley, each one a keen reminder that I was supposed to be focused on him —not the woman pressed between me and the wall at her back.

But Luna pulled at the edges of my concentration with every shallow breath that fanned against my jaw. I could feel her heartbeat, quick and unsteady, mirrored by my own.

Then she gasped softly, her breath a warm rush against my neck.

“What?” I hissed, my voice rougher than intended.

She shifted, her lips now dangerously close to grazing my ear. “He just threw something—small, it looked like a phone—into that dumpster.”

My focus snapped back to Marco, and sure enough, his pace had picked up as he walked away from the dumpster, shoulders relaxing like he was lighter without whatever he’d ditched.

I cursed under my breath. If I hadn’t been so focused on keeping her out of sight, I would’ve seen that myself.

Or taken it off him after I’d caught up with him.

Either way, I needed to know what he’d tossed—and if it was a phone? Maybe it would hold the missing pieces we needed to stop The Valentine Villain.

I exhaled slowly, letting my frustration bleed out along with it. She really was observant. It wasn’t ideal to spook the guy, but at least she’d kept her eye on him.

“Good catch,” I muttered, not looking at her because I didn’t trust my face to hide the grudging admiration I felt.

She preened. “See? This is why I needed to be here.”

I shot her a look. “No, you needed to be in the truck. Where it was safe.”

“But then maybe we wouldn’t have spooked him into ditching the phone.”

I hated that she was even half-right, almost as much as I hated the little thrill that came with realizing we made a pretty decent team.

We waited a few beats longer after Marco disappeared around the corner, and then I finally let go of her wrist and stepped out of her space. The absence of her touch felt weirdly noticeable, like my body was missing something vital that it shouldn’t.

I moved toward the dumpster, keeping low and scanning the alley for any lingering threats.

Luna followed, of course, because staying put was clearly against her own personal code.

I lifted the lid, and the smell hit me like a punch, sharp and rancid. I pulled my gloves from my pocket and slid them on with a sigh.

“Hero work.” Luna’s nose wrinkled in a way that shouldn’t have been cute but definitely was. “ So glamorous.”

I ignored her, spotting the phone wedged between a greasy pizza box and what I sincerely hoped wasn’t a used diaper.

I grabbed it with a gloved hand, holding it up. “Got it.”

Luna gave me a satisfied chin-lift. “You’re welcome.”

I tried to roll my eyes, but it probably didn’t land right since I couldn’t suppress the small smile tugging at my lips.

We headed back to the truck, and after I ditched the swords in the backseat and we climbed in, I dropped the phone onto the center console like it was some kind of trophy.

Luna looked way too pleased with herself for someone who’d nearly blown the whole operation. She propped her elbow on the windowsill, resting her chin in her hand as she watched me.

I started the engine, more to have something to do with my hands than because I planned on driving anywhere right away. The rumble filled the cabin of the truck, a low growl that matched the one I felt building deep in my chest.

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” I said gruffly, not looking at her.

“Once again, if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to dumpster dive for that phone. You smell great, by the way.”

I shot her a glare sharp enough to peel paint.

But she just smiled, leaning back in her seat like she hadn’t almost gotten us caught—or worse, gotten herself hurt .

I gripped the steering wheel, banishing the thought.

That wasn’t what happened, and as freaked out as I’d been when she’d first made her presence known in the most obnoxious way possible… two good things came out of it.

One, the phone.

And two, I’d held her in my arms.

I was self-aware enough to know how much I’d enjoyed it—regardless of the circumstances—so I wouldn’t pretend otherwise.

“…You did good.” The words felt like sandpaper on my tongue.

She lit up again. “Wow. I didn’t realize compliments were part of the job perks. So many in such a short time. Should I expect this to continue, or is it just because I’m the new girl?”

I couldn’t help it—my mouth twitched, almost a smile, but not quite.

She noticed, of course.

She noticed everything.

“You know,” she said, turning to face me, “that little smirk on the heels of a compliment just reminded me of something interesting.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, I got this mysterious, backhanded compliment in my compliment jar… Said something about the atmosphere at the shop being annoyingly enjoyable. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

I snorted, shaking my head. “Nope.”

She raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. “So, it wasn’t you?”

“Wasn’t me.”

“Is lying going to be a recurring thing with you, too?”

I hung my head, my shoulders shaking with a short, silent bubble of laughter. Giving in, I ran a hand over my face. “I didn’t say it was annoyingly enjoyable. I said, decent .”

Her grin softened into something different—less triumphant, more... knowing. Like she could see past all the layers of sarcasm and gruffness to the truth underneath.

The car filled with silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind.

And maybe that was why it did make me uncomfortable, so I straightened in my seat and put my hand on the gear shift. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

With a nod, I shifted into drive and headed back the way we came. The engine’s hum filled the cab as I drove, and Luna had gone quiet, her gaze out the passenger window as she tapped a lazy rhythm on her thigh with her fingers.

Inexplicably, I missed her teasing. Her rambling. I’d give anything to know the rapid-fire thoughts that no doubt flitted through her beautiful mind.

I snuck a glance at her when she wasn’t looking.

Big mistake.

Her face was relaxed in a way that made it hard to look away, the curve of her cheek looking softer and more delicate in the dim glow from the dashboard.

Then, a dimple appeared when she smirked at something only she knew. Probably some sarcastic thought she’d hit me with later, and honestly? I looked forward to it.

I dragged my eyes back to the road.

She got under my skin so easily, like it was second nature. But there was no denying it—when it came to knowing what to look for out in the streets? She had instincts. Sharp ones.

Tonight, she’d noticed something I hadn’t, and I had a feeling it was always like that for her. Like maybe she consistently saw connections where others missed them.

Looked like Luna Wilde was more than just a distraction, after all.